A Typology of National Park Co-management Agreements in the Era of Reconciliation in Canada.

Parks Canada, in response to commitments undertaken towards reconciliation, has signaled its readiness to reassess the participation of Indigenous peoples in the co-management of national parks, national park reserves, and national marine conservation areas (NMCAs). However, the effectiveness of co-management, as the established framework underpinning these and other longstanding partnerships between the state and Indigenous groups, has been disputed, based on an uneven track record in meeting the needs, interests, and aspirations of Indigenous communities. This paper explores the potential of co-management to facilitate reconciliation within national parks, reserves and NMCAs by developing a typology of various types of co-management agreements. Addressing a critical knowledge gap in co-management governance, we provide a comprehensive review of 23 negotiated co-management agreements involving the state and Indigenous groups in a national park context. The resulting typology categorizes these agreements according to contextual factors and governance arrangements, offering insights into the feasibility of shared governance approaches with Parks Canada. Moreover, it identifies the strengths and weaknesses of co-management agreements in fulfilling reconciliation commitments. Our findings indicate that, although Parks Canada has implemented innovative approaches to co-management and shown a willingness to support Indigenous-led conservation efforts, true shared governance with Indigenous groups, as defined by international standards, is limited by the Canadian government's evident reluctance to amend the foundational legislation to effectively share authority in national parks.

Doubling the known diversity of a remote island fauna: marine bivalves of the Juan Fernández and Desventuradas oceanic archipelagos (Southeastern Pacific Ocean).

Juan Fernández and Desventuradas are two oceanic archipelagos located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean far off the Chilean coast that received protected status as marine parks in 2016. Remoteness and access difficulty contributed to historically poor biodiversity sampling and limited associated research. This is particularly noticeable for bivalves, with most prior regional publications focused on single taxa or un-illustrated checklists. This study investigates marine bivalves collected between the intertidal and 415 m depth during (1) the 1997 IOC97 expedition aboard the M/V Carlos Porter, with special focus on scuba-collected micro-mollusks of both archipelagos, (2) two expeditions by the R/V Anton Bruun (Cruise 12/1965 and Cruise 17/1966), and (3) Cruise 21 of USNS Eltanin under the United States Antarctic Program, which sampled at Juan Fernández in 1965. Also, relevant historical material of the British H.M.S. Challenger Expedition (1873-1876), the Swedish Pacific Expedition (1916-1917), and by German zoologist Ludwig H. Plate (1893-1895) is critically revised. A total of 48 species are recognized and illustrated, including 19 new species (described herein) and six other potentially new species. The presence of two species mentioned in the literature for the region (Aulacomya atra and Saccella cuneata) could not be confirmed. The genera Verticipronus and Halonympha are reported for the first time from the Eastern Pacific, as are Anadara and Condylocardia from Chilean waters. Lectotypes are designated for Arca (Barbatia) platei and Mytilus algosus. These findings double the number of extant bivalve species known from the Juan Fernández and Desventuradas archipelagos, highlighting the lack of attention these islands groups have received in the past. A high percentage of species endemic to one or both archipelagos are recognized herein, accounting for almost 78% of the total. The newly recognized level of bivalve endemism supports the consideration of Juan Fernández and Desventuradas as two different biogeographic units (Provinces or Ecoregions) of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Dynamic shifts of functional diversity through climate-Resilient strategies and farmland restoration in a mountain protected area.

Land-use land-cover (LULC) change contributes to major ecological impacts, particularly in areas undergoing land abandonment, inducing modifications on habitat structure and species distributions. Alternative land-use policies are potential solutions to alleviate the negative impacts of contemporary tendencies of LULC change on biodiversity. This work analyzes these tendencies in the Montesinho Natural Park (Portugal), an area representative of European abandoned mountain rural areas. We built ecological niche models for 226 species of vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) and vascular plants, using a consensus modelling approach available in the R package 'biomod2'. We projected the models to contemporary (2018) and future (2050) LULC scenarios, under four scenarios aiming to secure relevant ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation for 2050: an afforestation and a rewilding scenario, focused on climate-smart management strategies, and a farmland and an agroforestry recovery scenario, based on re-establishing human traditional activities. We quantified the influences of these scenarios on biodiversity through species habitat suitability changes for 2018-2050. We analyzed how these management strategies could influence indices of functional diversity (functional richness, functional evenness and functional dispersion) within the park. Habitat suitability changes revealed complementary patterns among scenarios. Afforestation and rewilding scenarios benefited more species adapted to habitats with low human influence, such as forests and open woodlands. The highest functional richness and dispersion was predicted for rewilding scenarios, which could improve landscape restoration and provide opportunities for the expansion and recolonization of forest areas by native species. The recovery of traditional farming and agroforestry activities results in the lowest values of functional richness, but these strategies contribute to complex landscape matrices with diversified habitats and resources. Moreover, this strategy could offer opportunities for fire suppression and increase landscape fire resistance. An integrative approach reconciling rewilding initiatives with the recovery of extensive agricultural and agroforestry activities is potentially an harmonious strategy for supporting the provision of ecosystem services while securing biodiversity conservation and functional diversity within the natural park.

Dependence of Europe's most threatened mammals on movement to adapt to climate change.

Current rates of climate change and gloomy climate projections confront managers and conservation planners with the need to integrate climate change into already complex decision-making processes. Predicting and prioritizing climatically stable areas and the areas likely to facilitate adaptive species' range adjustments are important stages in maximizing conservation outcomes and rationalizing future land management. I determined, for the most threatened European terrestrial mammal species, the spatial adaptive trajectories (SATs) of highest expected persistence up to 2080. I devised simple spatial network indices for evaluation of species in those SATs: total persistence; proportion of SATs that offer in situ adaptation (i.e., stable refugia); number of SATs converging in a site; and relationship between SAT convergence and persistence and protected areas, the Natura 2000 and Emerald networks, and areas of low human disturbance. I compared the performance of high-persistence SATs with a scenario in which each species remained in the areas with the best climatic conditions in the baseline period. The 1000 most persistence SATs for each of the 39 species covered one fifth of Europe. The areas with the largest adaptive potential (i.e., high persistence, stability, and SAT convergence) did not always overlap for all the species. Predominantly, these regions were located in southwestern Europe, Central Europe, and Scandinavia, with some occurrences in Eastern Europe. For most species, persistence in the most climatically suitable areas during the baseline period was lower than within SATs, underscoring their reliance on adaptive movements. Importantly, conservation areas (particularly protected areas) covered only minor fractions of species persistence among SATs, and hubs of spatial climate adaptation (i.e., areas of high SAT convergence) were seriously underrepresented in most conservation areas. These results highlight the need to perform analyses on spatial species' dynamics under climate change.

Los mamíferos más amenazados de Europa y su dependencia del movimiento para adaptarse al cambio climático Resumen La tasa actual del cambio climático y las proyecciones climáticas pesimistas confrontan a los gestores y a los planeadores de la conservación con la necesidad de integrar este cambio a la ya de por sí compleja toma de decisiones. La predicción y priorización de áreas con estabilidad climática y áreas con probabilidad de facilitarles ajustes adaptativos de distribución a las especies son etapas importantes para maximizar los resultados de conservación y racionalizar la gestión futura de las tierras. Determiné las trayectorias espaciales adaptativas (TEA) para la mayoría de los mamíferos terrestres más amenazados de Europa con la persistencia esperada más alta hasta el 2080. Diseñé los siguientes índices de redes espaciales simples para la evaluación de especies en aquellas TEA: persistencia total, proporción de TEA que brindan adaptación in situ (refugios estables), número de TEA que convergen en un sitio y relación entre la convergencia de TEA y la persistencia con las áreas protegidas, las redes Natura 2000 y Emerald y las áreas de poca perturbación humana. Comparé el desempeño de las TEA de gran persistencia con un escenario en el que las especies permanecían dentro de las áreas con las mejores condiciones climáticas en el periodo de línea base. Las mil TEA más persistentes para cada una de las 39 especies cubrieron la quinta parte de Europa. Las áreas con el mayor potencial adaptativo (es decir, gran persistencia, estabilidad y convergencia de TEA) no siempre se traslaparon para todas las especies. Estas regiones predominaron en el suroeste de Europa, Europa Central y Escandinavia, con algunas ocurrencias en el este de Europa. Para la mayoría de las especies, la persistencia de las áreas con el mejor clima posible durante el periodo de línea base fue menor que dentro de las TEA, lo que resalta su dependencia por los movimientos adaptativos. Destaca que las áreas de conservación (en particular las áreas protegidas) cubrieron sólo pequeñas fracciones de la persistencia de las especies entre las TEA y los núcleos de adaptación climática (es decir, las áreas de gran convergencia de TEA) contaban con muy poca representación dentro de la mayoría de las áreas de conservación. Estos resultados enfatizan la necesidad de realizar análisis de las dinámicas espaciales de las especies bajo el cambio climático.

Global expansion of marine protected areas and the redistribution of fishing effort.

The expansion of marine protected areas (MPAs) is a core focus of global conservation efforts, with the "30x30" initiative to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 serving as a prominent example of this trend. We consider a series of proposed MPA network expansions of various sizes, and we forecast the impact this increase in protection would have on global patterns of fishing effort. We do so by building a predictive machine learning model trained on a global dataset of satellite-based fishing vessel monitoring data, current MPA locations, and spatiotemporal environmental, geographic, political, and economic features. We then use this model to predict future fishing effort under various MPA expansion scenarios compared to a business-as-usual counterfactual scenario that includes no new MPAs. The difference between these scenarios represents the predicted change in fishing effort associated with MPA expansion. We find that regardless of the MPA network objectives or size, fishing effort would decrease inside the MPAs, though by much less than 100%. Moreover, we find that the reduction in fishing effort inside MPAs does not simply redistribute outside-rather, fishing effort outside MPAs would also decline. The overall magnitude of the predicted decrease in global fishing effort principally depends on where networks are placed in relation to existing fishing effort. MPA expansion will lead to a global redistribution of fishing effort that should be accounted for in network design, implementation, and impact evaluation.

Using feces to indicate plastic pollution in terrestrial vertebrate species in western Thailand.

Plastic pollution is a widespread and growing concern due to its transformation into microplastics (MPs), which can harm organisms and ecosystems. This study, aimed to identify plastic pollution in the feces of terrestrial vertebrates using convenience sampling both inside and outside protected areas in Western Thailand. We hypothesized that MPs are likely to be detectable in the feces of all vertebrate species, primarily in the form of small black fragments. We predicted varying quantities of MPs in the feces of the same species across different protected areas. Furthermore, we expected that factors indicating human presence, landscape characteristics, scat weight, and the MP abundance in water, soils, and sediments would influence the presence of plastics in feces. Among 12 terrestrial species studied, potential MPs were found in 41.11% of 90 samples, totaling 83 pieces across eight species including the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Eld's deer (Rucervus eldii), Dhole (Cuon alpinus), Gaur (Bos gaurus), Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), Wild boar (Sus scrofa), Northern red muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis), and Butterfly lizard (Leiolepis belliana). Specifically, 3.61% of all potential MPs (three pieces) were macroplastics, and the remaining 96.39% were considered potential MPs with the abundance of 0.92 ± 1.89 items.scat-1 or 8.69 ± 32.56 items.100 g-1 dw. There was an association between the numbers of feces with and without potential plastics and species (χ2 = 20.88, p = 0.012). Most potential plastics were fibers (95.18%), predominantly black (56.63%) or blue (26.51%), with 74.70% smaller than two millimeters. Although there were no significant associations between species and plastic morphologies, colors, and sizes, the abundance classified by these characteristics varied significantly. FTIR identified 52.38% as natural fibers, 38.10% as synthetic fibers (rayon, polyurethane (PUR), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), and PUR blended with cotton), and 9.52% as fragments of PET and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). Human-related factors were linked to the occurrence of potential plastics found in the feces of land-dwelling wildlife. This study enhances the understanding of plastic pollution in tropical protected areas, revealing the widespread of MPs even in small numbers from the areas distant from human settlements. Monitoring plastics in feces offers a non-invasive method for assessing plastic pollution in threatened species, as it allows for easy collection and taxonomic identification without harming live animals. However, stringent measures to assure the quality are necessitated to prevent exogenous MP contamination. These findings underscore the importance of raising awareness about plastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems, especially regarding plastic products from clothing and plastic materials used in agriculture and irrigation systems.

Private management of African protected areas improves wildlife and tourism outcomes but with security concerns in conflict regions.

Protected areas can conserve wildlife and benefit people when managed effectively. African governments increasingly delegate the management of protected areas to private, nongovernmental organizations, hoping that private organizations' significant resources and technical capacities actualize protected areas' potential. Does private sector management improve outcomes compared to a counterfactual of government management? We leverage the transfer of management authority from governments to African Parks (AP)-the largest private manager of protected areas in Africa-to show that private management significantly improves wildlife outcomes via reduced elephant poaching and increased bird abundances. Our results also suggest that AP's management augments tourism, while the effect on rural wealth is inconclusive. However, AP's management increases the risk of armed groups targeting civilians, which could be an unintended outcome of AP's improved monitoring and enforcement systems. These findings reveal an intricate interplay between conservation, economic development, and security under privately managed protected areas in Africa.

Anthropogenic land uses lead to changes in limnological variables in Neotropical streams.

Streams are vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts, such as changes in land use, which reflect on water quality and can be evaluated by abiotic variables. In this context, the aims were to compare the abiotic values recorded in streams of different land use categories with the limits established by National legislation, and to analyze changes in abiotic variables in response to different land use impacts. Thus, 17 streams located in southern Brazil were sampled and grouped into urban, rural, and protected areas (PA) categories. The results showed the major impacts in urban streams. However, some variables in rural streams and PA also exceeded local legislation limits. Conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, ammoniacal nitrogen and coliforms were significantly higher in the urban streams. Contrary to expectations, the highest levels of manganese were found in PA streams. The relationship between abiotic variables and land uses suggests possible contamination by sewage in urban streams and by pesticides in rural streams. The abiotic similarity between rural and PA streams indicates that the conservation of these water bodies is ineffective. We suggest the monitoring of these environments and measures to mitigate the impacts to seek the restoration of ecosystem services and the well-being of human populations.

Diversity of Cellular Slime Molds (Dictyostelids) in the Fanjing Mountain Nature Reserve and Geographical Distribution Comparisons with Other Representative Nature Reserves in Different Climate Zones of China.

Protected areas are widely considered an essential strategy for biodiversity conservation. Dictyostelids are unique protists known to have important ecological functions in promoting soil and plant health through their top-down regulation of ecosystem processes, such as decomposition, that involve bacterial populations. But the relationship between dictyostelid diversity within protected areas remains poorly understood, especially on a large scale. Herein, we report data on the distribution of dictyostelids, identified with ITS + SSU rRNA molecular and morphology-based taxonomy, from soil samples collected in the Fanjing Mountain protected area of Guizhou Province, Southwest China. We compared the biodiversity data of dictyostelids in Fanjing Mountain with similar data from previously sampled sites in four other protected areas, including Changbai Mountain (CB), Gushan Mountain (GS), Baiyun Mountain (BY), and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QT) in China. We identified four species of dictyostelids belonging to three genera (Dictyostelium, Heterostelium, and Polysphondylium) and herein provide information on the taxonomy of these species. Two species (Heterostelium pallidum and Dictyostelium purpureum) are common and widely distributed throughout the world, but one species (Polysphondylium fuscans) was new to China. Our data indicate that there is no distinguishable significant correlation between the dictyostelid species studied and environmental factors. Overall, the similarity index between Baiyun Mountain in Henan Province and Fanjing Mountain in Guizhou Province, located at approximately the same longitude, is the highest, and the Jaccard similarity coefficients (Jaccard index) of family, genus, and species are 100%, 100%, and 12.5%, respectively. From a species perspective, species in the same climate zone are not closely related, but obvious geographical distributions are evident in different climate zones. This preliminary study provided evidence of the ecological adaptation of dictyostelids to different biological niches.

A decade of submersible observations revealed temporal trends in elasmobranchs in a remote island of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean.

No-take marine protected areas (MPAs) can mitigate the effects of overfishing, climate change and habitat degradation, which are leading causes of an unprecedented global biodiversity crisis. However, assessing the effectiveness of MPAs, especially in remote oceanic islands, can be logistically challenging and often restricted to relatively shallow and accessible environments. Here, we used a long-term dataset (2010-2019) collected by the DeepSee submersible of the Undersea Hunter Group that operates in Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica, to (1) determine the frequency of occurrence of elasmobranch species at two depth intervals (50-100 m; 300-400 m), and (2) investigate temporal trends in the occurrence of common elasmobranch species between 2010 and 2019, as well as potential drivers of the observed changes. Overall, we observed 17 elasmobranch species, 15 of which were recorded on shallow dives (50-100 m) and 11 on deep dives (300-400 m). We found a decreasing trend in the probability of occurrence of Carcharhinus falciformis over time (2010-2019), while other species (e.g. Taeniurops meyeni, Sphyrna lewini, Carcharhinus galapagensis, Triaenodon obesus, and Galeocerdo cuvier) showed an increasing trend. Our study suggests that some species like S. lewini may be shifting their distributions towards deeper waters in response to ocean warming but may also be sensitive to low oxygen levels at greater depths. These findings highlight the need for regional 3D environmental information and long-term deepwater surveys to understand the extent of shark and ray population declines in the ETP and other regions, as most fishery-independent surveys from data-poor countries have been limited to relatively shallow waters.

Analysis of Priority Conservation Areas Using Habitat Quality Models and MaxEnt Models.

This study investigated core habitat areas for yellow-throated martens (Martes flavigula) and leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis), two endangered forest species sensitive to habitat fragmentation in Korea. Overlaying the InVEST-HQ and MaxEnt models, priority conservation areas were identified by analyzing gaps in currently protected areas. The InVEST-HQ model showed that habitat quality ranged from 0 to 0.86 on a scale from 0 to 1, and the majority of the most suitable areas on the Environmental Conservation Value Assessment Map, designated as grade 1, were derived correctly. The MaxEnt model analysis accurately captured the ecological characteristics of the yellow-throated marten and the leopard cat and identified probable regions of occurrence. We analyzed the most suitable yellow-throated marten and leopard cat habitats by superimposing the two results. Gap analysis determined gaps in existing protected areas and identified priority conservation areas. The core area (14.7%) was mainly distributed in forests such as the Baekdudaegan Mountains Reserve in regions such as Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, and Gangwon; 12.9% was outside protected areas, and only 1.8% was protected. The overlap results between protected and non-protected areas were compared with different land use types. Conservation priority areas were identified as those with more than 95% forest cover, offering an appropriate habitat for the two species. These findings can be used to identify priority conservation areas through objective habitat analysis and as a basis for protected area designation and assessment of endangered species habitat conservation, thereby contributing to biodiversity and ecosystem conservation.

Multiple events determine the distribution of fishes' early life stages in the Abrolhos Bank, Southwestern Atlantic.

Fluctuations in reef fish settlement and recruitment significantly impact local population dynamics and adult population size. We use light traps to evaluate reef fish settlement in inshore and offshore reefs in the Abrolhos Bank, in addition to the spatio-temporal distribution patterns, and environmental variables' influence. Data were collected from inshore and offshore reefs, and statistical analyses, including GLMs, PERMANOVA and nMDS, aimed to understand spatial-temporal species distribution patterns and the relationship between environmental variables. Results indicate greater species abundance and diversity offshore, influenced by winds, tides, and distance from shore, explaining 50% of larval patterns and highlighting the importance of spatial-temporal variations in early-life reef fish assemblages. However, several factors, including habitat type, quality, complexity, seascape configuration, and MPA location, may influence these patterns. Additionally, we provide evidence that commercially important species like Lutjanids use Abrolhos reef areas as nursery grounds.

Identification, spatial distribution, and associated factors of urban protected areas in China.

The increasing proximity between protected areas (PAs) and urban areas, which can lead to urban protected areas (UPAs), is now commonplace. Use of Euclidean distance to measure the distance between PAs and cities has not correctly portrayed the spatial relationship between PAs and cities. We devised an isochronous circle model to accurately measure the distance between 2706 national PAs in 5 categories and 2844 cities in China based on human accessibility to identify urban human activity-influenced protected areas (UHAIPAs) and to quantitatively analyze their distribution patterns and relationships with China's economy, population distribution patterns, and urban development indicators. Most of the PAs in China were established near cities. Of 2746 PAs in China, 18.35% (n = 504) became UPAs, and 58.27% (n = 1600), 16.72% (n = 459), and 3.31% (n = 91) of PAs were within 0-30, 30-60, and 60-90 min, respectively. Both UPAs and UHAIPAs in China in general exhibited obvious spatial aggregation characteristics (e.g., wetland parks and scenic areas), and there was a significant spatial dependence effect among characteristics. The degree of spatial distribution and aggregation of UPAs was correlated with 16 indicators across urban economic development, urban natural substrate, and urban policy support factors. Based on the results of our study, we call for various governments and scholars to focus on areas where wetland parks and PAs overlap with urban boundaries. It is important to emphasize the potential link between the development of agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries industries, and UPAs. Overall, we believe that examining the accessibility of PAs can more accurately measure the distance between PAs and cities, and more realistically reflect the possible impacts of urban human activities on PAs, which is helpful for strengthening the conservation and management of PAs.

Identificación, distribución espacial y factores asociados de las áreas urbanas protegidas en China Resumen La creciente proximidad entre las áreas protegidas (AP) y las áreas urbanas, que puede derivar en áreas urbanas protegidas (AUP), es muy común hoy en día. La distancia euclidiana no ha representado correctamente la distancia entre las AP y las ciudades. Por lo anterior, diseñamos un modelo de círculo isócrono para medir con certeza la distancia entre 2706 AP nacionales en cinco categorías y 2844 ciudades de China con base en la accesibilidad humana para identificar las áreas urbanas protegidas con influencia de actividad humana (AUPIAH). También lo usamos para analizar cuantitativamente los patrones de distribución y su relación con la economía china, los patrones de distribución poblacional y los indicadores de desarrollo urbano. La mayoría de las AP en China están establecidas cerca de las ciudades. De las 2746 AP, el 18.35% (n = 504) se convirtieron en AUP y el 58.27% (n = 1600), 16.72% (n = 459) y 3.31% (n = 91) se encontraban de 0­30 minutos, 30­60 y de 60­90 minutos de una ciudad, respectivamente. Tanto las AUP y las AUPIAH exhibieron características obvias de agregación espacial (p. ej.: parques de humedales y áreas escénicas) y hubo un efecto significativo de dependencia espacial entre dichas características. El nivel de distribución y agregación espacial de las AUP tuvo correlación con 16 indicadores de desarrollo económico urbano, sustrato natural urbano y factores de apoyo para las políticas urbanas. Con base en los resultados de nuestro estudio, hacemos un llamado para que diferentes gobiernos y académicos se enfoquen en las áreas en donde se traslapan las AP y los parques de humedales con los límites urbanos. Es importante resaltar la conexión potencial entre el desarrollo de la agricultura, silvicultura, ganadería y pesquería y las AUP. En general, consideramos que analizar la accesibilidad de las AP puede medir de forma más certera la distancia entre las AP y las ciudades, además de que refleja de forma más realista el posible impacto de las actividades humanas sobre las AP, lo cual es útil para fortalecer la conservación y gestión de las AP.

Identification of the first nursery area of the Galápagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis) in the south-east Pacific Ocean.

The identification of important areas (i.e., nursery grounds) is essential for the conservation of most shark species. To assess whether Salas y Gómez Island serves as a nursery area for the Galápagos shark Carcharhinus galapagensis, we conducted a thorough literature review. Multiple lines of evidence show that young-of-the-year (YOY);  inhabiting the remote Salas y Gómez Island (1) present a higher density around Salas y Gómez Island than the surrounding deeper oceanic waters and in the south-eastern Pacific, (2) potentially display high fidelity to this area, and (3) demonstrate the repeated use of this area over multiple years. We also discuss the significance of this isolated island for the Galápagos shark population and propose specific research, management, and conservation actions for its preservation.

Offshore habitats of endangered large mobile species in the western Yellow Sea: Quality status under shipping pressure.

Increasing shipping pressure (SP) deteriorates offshore habitats of large mobile species (LMS) and invalidates marine conservation systems, while the threat of SP to the survival of LMS is not well understood. Here, for the 16 endangered LMS in the western Yellow Sea, we quantified their habitat quality in specific sea areas and conservation capacity of marine protected areas (MPAs) under SP, based on AIS (Automatic Identification System) data and an overlay analysis method for SP surfaces and LMS habitats. Results indicate that three specific sea areas have partially lost habitat function, and their MPA networks have also lost 66.7 %, 59.1 %, and 9.2 % of conservation capacity, respectively. To prevent the continued degradation and extinction of endangered LMS, urgent rescue efforts are needed. This study highlights the importance of monitoring offshore shipping pressure and LMS habitat quality, and the findings contribute to the adjustment of marine spatial planning and LMS protection strategies.

The effectiveness of natural reserves from the perspective of habitat quality in the southern section of the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China.

Natural reserves (NRs) play key roles in habitat integrity conservation and biodiversity loss mitigation, and the assessment of the conservation effectiveness of NRs is needed to better manage them. Habitat quality (HQ) comprehensively reflects habitat integrity and biodiversity, but the conservation effectiveness of NRs from the perspective of HQ has rarely been determined at high spatial resolution. Taking the southern section of the Hengduan Mountains (SSHM) in Southwest China as an example, combining an InVEST-HQ model and spatiotemporal change detection methods, the effectiveness of NRs from the perspective of HQ at 30-m spatial resolution was assessed in this study. The effectiveness disparities of NRs across different properties (i.e., management level, conservation target, size, and establishment age) was analyzed and the human pressures on NRs was investigated. The results showed that the HQ of the NRs is good in the SSHM, with the area ratio of the Higher and Highest HQ ≥ 93%. Most of the NR area (94.11%) was effective at improving or maintaining a good HQ. With regard to NR properties, county NRs, NRs designated to conserving wild animals, middle NRs, and younger NRs were more effective, corresponding to management level, conservation target, size, and establishment age, respectively. The human footprint for an effective area is significantly lower than that for an ineffective area, consistent with higher HQ in the effective area and lower HQ in the ineffective area. These findings support the management and zoning of NRs in the SSHM to ensure their effectiveness.

Principles for area-based biodiversity conservation.

Recent international agreements have strengthened and expanded commitments to protect and restore native habitats for biodiversity protection ("area-based biodiversity conservation"). Nevertheless, biodiversity conservation is hindered because how such commitments should be implemented has been strongly debated, which can lead to suboptimal habitat protection decisions. We argue that, despite the debates, there are three essential principles for area-based biodiversity conservation. These principles are related to habitat geographic coverage, amount, and connectivity. They emerge from evidence that, while large areas of nature are important and must be protected, conservation or restoration of multiple small habitat patches is also critical for global conservation, particularly in regions with high land use. We contend that the many area-based conservation initiatives expected in the coming decades should follow the principles we identify, regardless of ongoing debates. Considering the importance of biodiversity for maintenance of ecosystem services, we suggest that this would bring widespread societal benefits.

Long-term data reveal fitness costs of anthropogenic prey depletion for a subordinate competitor, the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus).

Within carnivore guilds, dominant competitors (e.g., lions, Panthera leo) are limited primarily by the density of prey, while subordinate competitors (e.g., African wild dogs, Lycaon pictus) have been limited by the density of dominant competitors. Historically, the fitness and population density of subordinate competitors have not been tightly linked to prey density. However, populations of large herbivores have declined substantially across sub-Saharan Africa due to human impacts, and where prey depletion is severe, fitness costs for competitive subordinates may begin to outweigh the benefits of competitive release. Using long-term intensive monitoring of African wild dogs in Zambia's Luangwa Valley Ecosystem (LVE), we tested the effects of prey depletion on survival and reproduction. We hypothesized that African wild dog fitness would be lower in prey-depleted areas, despite lower lion densities. Our study area included four contiguous regions that varied in protection level, prey density, and lion density. We fit Bayesian Cormack-Jolly-Seber and closed-capture models to estimate effects on survival and population density, and generalized linear models to estimate effects on reproductive success. We found that the LVE is a stronghold for African wild dogs, with an estimated median density of 4.0 individuals/100 km2. Despite this high density, survival and reproduction differed among regions, and both components of fitness were substantially reduced in the region with the lowest prey density. Anthropogenic prey depletion is becoming an important limiting factor for African wild dogs. If prey depletion (or any other form of habitat degradation) becomes severe enough that its fitness costs outweigh the benefits of competitive release, such changes can fundamentally alter the balance between limiting factors for competitively subordinate species.

Host preference patterns in domestic and wild settings: Insights into Anopheles feeding behavior.

The adaptation of Anopheles malaria vectors to domestic settings is directly linked to their ability to feed on humans. The strength of this species-habitat association is unequal across the species within the genus, with the major vectors being particularly dependent on humans. However, our understanding of how blood-feeding behavior interacts with and adapts to environmental settings, including the presence of humans, remains limited. Using a field-based approach, we first investigated Anopheles community structure and feeding behavior patterns in domestic and sylvatic settings in La Lopé National Park in Gabon, Central Africa. We characterized the preference indices using a dual-host choice sampling approach across mosquito species, habitats, and seasons. We then quantified the plastic biting behavior of mosquito species in each habitat. We collected individuals from 16 Anopheles species that exhibited significant differences in species composition and abundance between sylvatic and domestic settings. The host-seeking behavior also varied among the seven most abundant species. The general attractiveness to each host, human or animal, remained relatively constant for each species, but with significant variations between habitats across species. These variations, to more generalist and to more anthropophilic behavior, were related to seasonal changes and distance from the village, respectively. Finally, we pointed out that the host choice of major malaria vectors changed in the absence of humans, revealing a plastic feeding behavior of these species. This study highlights the effect of humans on Anopheles distribution and feeding evolution. The characterization of feeding behavior in wild and domestic settings provides opportunities to better understand the interplay between genetic determinants of host preference and ecological factors. Our findings suggest that protected areas may offer alternative thriving conditions to major malaria vectors.

Energy-based corridor identification for mammals between protected areas in Iran.

Body mass plays a crucial role in determining the mass-specific energy expenditure during terrestrial locomotion across diverse animal taxa, affecting locomotion patterns. The energy landscape concept offers a framework to explore the relationship between landscape characteristics and energy expenditure, enhancing our understanding of animal movement. Although the energy landscape approach solely considers the topographic obstacles faced by animals, its suitability compared to previous methods for constructing resistance maps and delineating corridors has not been comprehensively examined. In this study, we utilized the enerscape R package to generate resistance maps in kilocalories (kcal) by incorporating digital elevation models (DEMs) and body size data (kg). We assigned body sizes ranging from 0.5 to 100 kg to encompass a wide range of small and large mammals in Iran, adjusting maximum dispersal distances accordingly from 50 to 200 km. By analyzing these scenarios, we produced four resistance maps for each body size. Next, we identified potential corridors between terrestrial protected areas in Iran using the Linkage Mapper toolkit and examined barriers and pinch-points along these paths. Our study revealed significant findings regarding the shared corridors between small and large mammals in Iran's landscape. Despite their differing body sizes and energy requirements, many corridors were found to be utilized by both small and large mammal species. For example, we identified 206 corridors for mammals weighing 500 g, which were also recognized as the least-cost paths for 100 kg mammals. Thus, embracing a comprehensive method in resistance map creation, one that incorporates species-specific traits and human infrastructure becomes imperative for accurately identifying least-cost paths and consequently pinpointing pinch points and barriers.